Sunday, January 10 marked the inaugural Los Angeles 13.1 Half Marathon. The “13.1″ means the mileage in a half marathon: 13.1 miles.
Super Husband and I signed up for this race a few months ago. It was relatively inexpensive and we got a great discount on top of it – PLUS, it was based out of West Los Angeles….no 3 a.m. wake up calls and an hour of driving!!
I admit, I had very low expectations. Call me a race cynic – but new races tend to have a lot of kinks to work out. We decided to bring our own water in case they ran out. I am happy to say – all my concerns were never realized (more on that later).
Packet pick-up was set up differently for this race. The organizers took 3 days and spread out the pick-up throughout LA County. One day was inland at Arcadia. One day was south in the South Bay (Manhattan Beach) and Saturday was in Santa Monica. All packet pick-ups were located in REI stores (so I was able to scan the clearance racks….found lots of stuff, but with cutting back on tri’s this year, I wasn’t about to buy more toys! *laugh*).
Saturday morning Super Husband and I made our way to Santa Monica and arrived at REI about 5 minutes before the packet pickup began. There was a line but everything was set up and the lines moved quickly and efficiently. The shirts were one size (they did not carry a slimmer women’s size) so I ended up with a men’s medium – but other than that, everything was great. Easy in, easy out. We were glad we picked everything up early because the local parking garages were starting to get full.
Sunday we were up shortly after 5 a.m. and out the door by 6 a.m. We took time to eat our oatmeal and gain our bearings before making the 7:13 a.m. start time. (Yes, 7:13…the “13″ was in honor of the 13.1 half marathon series).
We had no problem finding a parking spot – in a little lot along the beach (free! woo hoo!). It was a couple blocks from the start line. We walked along the strand – watched the high surf pound in…. it was going to be a lovely day! It was cool – but not cold. Many folks were in heavy layers – so glad we were in our shorts and light tops. We knew that sun would be warm! And – we were right!!
We found my friend Ellen and her husband before the start – and hugged them “good luck”. This was their very first Half Marathon. We were very excited for them and the journey they were about to take. We said good-bye, found our place in line and waited for the start. The actual start time was delayed by about 10-15 minutes (not sure why) – but soon we were on our way. We went down Ocean and cut down the Venice boardwalk a bit. Once we hit Venice Blvd. – we headed east. We went east for about 5.5 miles then turned around, and came back the exact way we went out.
I thought this run would be boring since it’s mostly on Venice Blvd. and Venice is not the prettiest street nor the prettiest of areas. However, I am happy to say I took in the buildings, views, businesses – that I would never see otherwise. It was quite nice! The water and electrolytes were plentiful. The volunteers were fantastic, upbeat, and helpful. The electrolytes for this race was Gatorade Endurance – and NOT watered down! I was so impressed!! Both Super Husband and I enjoyed the Gatorade – for once, the race fluid tasted GOOD! (Only Ironman has had this brand before – so it was such a treat to see a local half marathon have it).
As we plodded down the street – before we knew it we saw the leader go in the opposite direction. Amazing! Soon, others passed. Every time I saw an LA Tri Club shirt, I waved – as did they. There would be shouts of “Go LA!” (we LA Tri Clubbers are such positive folks!). As we came to the Overland / Venice crossroads, we smiled. Onward, the turnaround was about another mile up the road.
We passed our favorite Thai place, came to some familiar snack places, and we even noticed a place or two we never noticed that we wanted to go to some other day (Panchos Tacos??) ….then made the turnaround. Half way there! With the sun at our backs (and the breeze suddenly gone) we headed west to the ocean.
I made sure I took a Gu around mile 6 and another around mile 10. Perfect timing – both times it was at the onset of a growling stomach. I’ve gotten pretty good at taking care of hunger at the slightest ping – this keeps any crashing / bonking / getting sick from taking place.
We went under the 405 underpass, then before we knew it crossed Lincoln. Holy cow – the mileage just whizzed by! This was the quickest the mileage has ever gone in a Half Marathon, for me. Right before the ocean we veered off onto a couple of streets I was not familiar with and ended on a RED CARPET chute! The finish line was lined in RED CARPET for the LA themed celebs called runners! There were celebrity impersonators (Marilyn Monroe, Austin Powers, Darth Vader among others) at the finish line. They happily took pictures with the runners.
As we crossed the line, Super Husband and I clasped hands and enjoyed having our names shouted over the loud speaker. We used disposable D-tags on shoes instead of chips – so no waiting in line for chip removal. We received our really nice medals immediately – and found some after race food (bagels, granola bars, apples, bananas). The myoplex beverages were all gone (bummer) – so we grabbed waters.
After a bit we walked down to look at our free lunch provided by Border Grill. The line was long and the breakfast burrito was tiny, tiny, tiny – so we bypassed it and stood at the chute and cheered in all the runners and walkers. It was so much fun watching everyone finish. Then we saw Ellen and Jim – finishing in strong stride as they crossed their very first Half Marathon chute!
All in all, this was a magnificent race. Well organized – easy directions – great swag and medal.
Pro’s about the race:
- Inexpensive
- Local (no long drive! not too early of wake-up!)
- Packet pick-up was easy
- Shirt was technical fabric
- Medal was nice
- Plentiful water and Gatorade Endurance Formula
- Volunteers were amazing
- Finish line was fun and had a party atmosphere
- Small – but incredible
What can be done better next time:
- Mention shirts were one size (or have women’s sizes)
- Bigger expo (expo was tiny)
- Venice Blvd. was nice – but a more scenic route would be great…although I was happy with this one
Kudos on a great race, 13.1 series. To anyone considering the Los Angeles 13.1 or any of the other locations across the country, I highly suggest them. The team makes a great experience for everyone involved. I will DEFINITELY consider doing this race again!
On a sidenote, I met fellow bloggers Lil Half Pint (with whom I’ve been blogging for about 2 years) and Jackie (with whom I’ve been emailing and blogging with for the past few months). It was so great meeting them in person. I think I screamed Lil Half Pint’s name…*laugh* Such a doll! SO glad I met them! More meetings to come, Ladies!!
